Breaking the Ice: How We Will Get Through Australia's Methamphetamine Crisis

by Matt Noffs

'The so-called war on drugs has been a colossal failure, and this book offers further proof that we must treat drug use as a public health issue, not as a crime' Sir Richard Branson This landmark book, from Matt Noffs and his team at the Noffs Foundation, is a much-needed voice of reason in the national conversation around the drug ice. What is ice? What does it do to the brain? What can we learn from previous drug policies about managing the current crisis? And what are the practical steps we can take as parents and carers to help our kids? Matt Noffs has interviewed leading experts in the public health sector and the justice system, along with drug policymakers and shapers, as well as ice users and their families. He believes we can keep the crisis contained and managed, but we need to do so calmly and strategically - as parents, as a community and as a nation. For anyone seeking to understand what the drug is and how to help our children and our communities get through this crisis, this book is full of facts and sensible advice - and most importantly, it is full of hope.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health

282 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2016

Reviews

[Rory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually hate descriptions like this... but this book is really really important. This book obviously comes from a genre of drug exposes which are often inaccurate and usually sensationalist. When I read these kinds of books I usually have to punctuate them with cringes, but this book was a relief and prompted many "oh" moments. Which is why I felt sufficiently motivated to write a review.

This book takes a harm-reduction viewpoint and is the only insightful and non-fear based book I've read about meth. Noffs who works at street-level with recovering substance users (mainly young people) brings together figures from diverse fields and backgrounds (health, users, police, policy advisors, scientists, parents, and users) to explain what meth is and what the implications are for Australia.

The chief virtue of this book is that its rundown on the history, chemistry, and effects of ice are soberly explained without that derailing awe/fascination of the drug-user or the prohibitionist. There is no elevation.

The main thing this book does is it breaks-down the stigmatic image of the raving ice "zombie", the easy use of meth as a catchall cure from having to empathise too hard with anyone poor and/or mentally unwell. Noffs points out that only a small minority of people who use ice experience significant mental health disturbances and of those admitted to hospital on the main, what one is seeing is preexisting mental health issues - such as schizophrenia - arising. This doesn't make meth "good" but focussing on violence dehumanises users and the mentally ill and stops people empathising and having a realistic view of what meth is and how is can be addressed. Plus it is a heavily class-based conception. Noffs underlines this point, if we want to help people recover we have to treat them like they're human.

This book also has the best description of why meth use is localised and culturally distinct within the queer community which I've encountered.

The description of how in the mid 2000s New Zealand's ice problem is also very instructive. New Zealand had a problem with 6% of its population using (compared to Australia's current 'epidemic' of 2%) and there was a clear decision to not follow America's lead of punitive measures and misinformation*, and focussed on treatment and rehabilitation. New Zealand's rate of use dropped to 0.9%.

I hope this book inspires some change in our current thinking, and hopefully encourages investment of money into rehabilitation services, but also just investment in empathy and respect.


*Think Montana Meth Project images of bright happy white kids using meth once and suddenly metamorphosing into goblin-esque deviants.

[Peter Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enlightening, balanced. An important book

If you want to increase your knowledge, well worth a read.
If you have children, if you have teenagers, part 4 is almost essential reading

If you want to understand the non publicized and very successful harm minimization side of J.Howards and J.Keys "Tough on Drugs" policies, part 5.